[ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]
.His eyes watered.The thing that had saved him was falling flat.The driver of that car, seeing Montagdown, instinctively considered the probability that running over a body at that speedmight turn the car upside down and spill them out.If Montag had remained an uprighttarget.?Montag gasped.Far down the boulevard, four blocks away, the beetle had slowed, spun about on twowheels, and was now racing back, slanting over on the wrong side of the street,picking up speed.But Montag was gone, hidden in the safety of the dark alley for which he had set outon a long journey, an hour or was it a minute, ago? He stood shivering in the night,looking back out as the beetle ran by and skidded back to the centre of the avenue,whirling laughter in the air all about it, gone.Further on, as Montag moved in darkness, he could see the helicopters falling,falling, like the first flakes of snow in the long winter.to come.The house was silent.Montag approached from the rear, creeping through a thick night-moistened scent ofdaffodils and roses and wet grass.He touched the screen door in back, found itopen, slipped in, moved across the porch, listening.Mrs.Black, are you asleep in there? he thought.This isn't good, but your husbanddid it to others and never asked and never wondered and never worried.And nowsince you're a fireman's wife, it's your house and your turn, for all the houses yourhusband burned and the people he hurt without thinking.The house did not reply.He hid the books in the kitchen and moved from the house again to the alley andlooked back and the house was still dark and quiet, sleeping.On his way across town, with the helicopters fluttering like torn bits of paper in thesky, he phoned the alarm at a lonely phone booth outside a store that was closed forthe night.Then he stood in the cold night air, waiting and at a distance he heard thefire sirens start up and run, and the Salamanders coming, coming to bum Mr.Black'shouse while he was away at work, to make his wife stand shivering in the morning airwhile the roof let go and dropped in upon the fire.But now, she was still asleep.Good night, Mrs.Black, he thought.- "Faber! "Another rap, a whisper, and a long waiting.Then, after a minute, a small lightflickered inside Faber's small house.After another pause, the back door opened.They stood looking at each other in the half-light, Faber and Montag, as if each didnot believe in the other's existence.Then Faber moved and put out his hand andgrabbed Montag and moved him in and sat him down and went back and stood in thedoor, listening.The sirens were wailing off in the morning distance.He came in andshut the door.Montag said, "I've been a fool all down the line.I can't stay long.I'm on my way Godknows where.""At least you were a fool about the right things," said Faber."I thought you weredead.The audio-capsule I gave you--""Burnt.""I heard the captain talking to you and suddenly there was nothing.I almost came outlooking for you.""The captain's dead.He found the audio-capsule, he heard your voice, he was goingto trace it.I killed him with the flamethrower."Faber sat down and did not speak for a time."My God, how did this happen?" said Montag."It was only the other night everythingwas fine and the next thing I know I'm drowning.How many times can a man godown and still be alive? I can't breathe.There's Beatty dead, and he was my friendonce, and there's Millie gone, I thought she was my wife, but now I don't know.Andthe house all burnt.And my job gone and myself on the run, and I planted a book in afireman's house on the way.Good Christ, the things I've done in a single week! ""You did what you had to do.It was coming on for a long time.""Yes, I believe that, if there's nothing else I believe.It saved itself up to happen.Icould feel it for a long time, I was saving something up, I went around doing one thingand feeling another.God, it was all there.It's a wonder it didn't show on me, like fat.And now here I am, messing up your life.They might follow me here.""I feel alive for the first time in years," said Faber."I feel I'm doing what I should havedone a lifetime ago.For a little while I'm not afraid.Maybe it's because I'm doing theright thing at last.Maybe it's because I've done a rash thing and don't want to lookthe coward to you.I suppose I'll have to do even more violent things, exposingmyself so I won't fall down on the job and turn scared again.What are your plans?""To keep running.""You know the war's on?""I heard.""God, isn't it funny?" said the old man."It seems so remote because we have ourown troubles.""I haven't had time to think." Montag drew out a hundred dollars."I want this to staywith you, use it any way that'll help when I'm gone.""But-- ""I might be dead by noon; use this."Faber nodded."You'd better head for the river if you can, follow along it, and if youcan hit the old railroad lines going out into the country, follow them.Even thoughpractically everything's airborne these days and most of the tracks are abandoned,the rails are still there, rusting.I've heard there are still hobo camps all across thecountry, here and there; walking camps they call them, and if you keep walking farenough and keep an eye peeled, they say there's lots of old Harvard degrees on thetracks between here and Los Angeles.Most of them are wanted and hunted in thecities.They survive, I guess.There aren't many of them, and I guess the Government's never considered them a great enough danger to go in and track themdown.You might hole up with them for a time and get in touch with me in St [ Pobierz całość w formacie PDF ]

  • zanotowane.pl
  • doc.pisz.pl
  • pdf.pisz.pl
  • funlifepok.htw.pl

    •